China National Nuclear Corporation

Not to be confused with China General Nuclear Power Group, the other major Chinese nuclear power company

The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC; Chinese: 中国核工业集团公司; pinyin: Zhōngguó Hé Gōngyè Jítuán Gōngsī) is a state-owned enterprise founded in 1955 in Beijing.^[1][4][5] CNNC's president and vice-president are appointed by the Premier of the People's Republic of China. CNNC oversees all aspects of China's civilian and military nuclear programs.^[6][7] According to its own mission statement, it "is a main part of the national nuclear technology industry and a leading element of national strategic nuclear forces and nuclear energy development."^[8]

China National Nuclear Corporation

Native name	中国核工业集团公司
Company type	State-owned
Industry	Nuclear technology
Predecessor	Ministry of Nuclear Industry
Founded	1955^[1]
Headquarters	Beijing, China
Key people	Sun Qin (President)^[2]
Products	Nuclear weapons, nuclear power generation
Owner	State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission
Number of employees	100,000^[3]
Subsidiaries	China Nuclear International Uranium Corporation Nuctech
Website	en.cnnc.com.cn

China National Nuclear Corporation
Simplified Chinese	中国核工业集团公司
Traditional Chinese	中國核工業集團公司
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Hégōngyè Jítuán Gōngsī

Its headquarters are in Xicheng District, Beijing.^[9]

History

The Ministry of Nuclear Industry built China's first atom bomb, hydrogen bomb and nuclear submarine.^{[citation needed]} It functioned as a government bureau for the national nuclear industry and reported directly to the State Council. It oversaw China's nuclear-related corporations, manufacturers, institutions, research institutes, and plants, including those related to nuclear weapons. It was responsible for the design and operation of nuclear power plants; nuclear fuel production and supply, including the processing of natural uranium, uranium conversion and enrichment, fuel assembly fabrication, spent fuel reprocessing, and nuclear waste disposal.^{[citation needed]}

In 1988 the Ministry of Nuclear Industry was re-organised and became the CNNC. The corporatization was partly carried out to gain funds from outside of the government via exports.^[10]

In the mid-1990s, CNNC had 300,000 employees and managed 200 organisations.^[10]

Kang Rixin, a senior general manager is currently being investigated (as of August 10, 2009) for $260 million that was earmarked for the construction of three nuclear plants and allegedly used the funds for the stock market sustaining heavy losses. He is also accused of accepting bribes from a foreign company that intended to build nuclear power stations in China.^[11][12]

As of 2014^[update] CNNC has 100,000 employees and 110 subsidiaries. It has 4 nuclear power plants with 9 reactors in operation with a generation capacity of 6.5 GWe, with a further 12 reactors under construction.^[1]

In June 2015, CNNC announced it would aim to raise 13.19 billion Chinese yuan in an initial public offering, that if successful, would be the largest in China in almost four years previously.^[13] In September 2015, CNNC signed a memorandum of understanding with Bill Gates-backed TerraPower for the construction of a traveling wave reactor.^[14]

In September, CNNC announced a project with the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory to create the Joint Research and Innovation Centre. The centre will investigate aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle. The UK and China will jointly fund the project over five years at the cost of £50 million.^[15]

As of 2017, CNNC was developing a 400 MW_th heat-only reactor for district heating.^[16]

In 2018, CNNC acquired nuclear power plant builder China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Corp (CNECC).^[17][18]

U.S. sanctions

In August 2020, the United States Department of Defense published the names of companies linked to the People's Liberation Army operating directly or indirectly in the United States. CNNC and CNECC were included on the list.^[19][20] In November 2020, Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any American company or individual from owning shares in companies that the United States Department of Defense has listed as having links to the People's Liberation Army, which included the two companies above.^[21][22][23]

Reactor designs

CNP / ACP series

Main article: CNP / ACP nuclear reactors

The CNP Generation II nuclear reactors (and Generation III successor ACP) were a series of nuclear reactors developed by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), and are predecessors of the more current Hualong One design.

The CNP series of Generation II reactors started with the CNP-300 pressurized water reactor, was the first reactor design developed domestically in China. The first unit began operation at Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in 1991.

A larger version of the reactor, the CNP-600 was developed based on both the CNP-300^[24] and the M310 reactor design used in Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant.^[25][26] It was installed at Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant, with two units operational from 2015 and 2016, respectively. A Generation III ACP-600 successor was also developed but none were built.

A three loop, 1000-MW version of the CNP reactor, the CNP-1000, was under development since the 1990s with the help of vendors Westinghouse and Framatome (now AREVA). 4 units of the CNP-1000 were later built at Fuqing NPP. Further work on the CNP-1000 was stopped in favour of the ACP-1000.

In 2013, China announced that it had independently developed the Generation III ACP-1000, with Chinese authorities claiming full intellectual property rights over the design. As a result of the success of the Hualong One project, no ACP-1000 reactors have been built to date. CNNC had originally planned to use the ACP-1000 in Fuqing reactor 5 and 6 but switched over to the Hualong One.^[27]

Hualong One

Main article: Hualong One

In 2012, central planners in Beijing directed China General Nuclear (CGN) and the other large nuclear builder and operator, CNNC to 'rationalise' their Generation III reactor design programs. This meant CGN's ACPR1000 and CNNC's ACP1000, both of which were based on the French Generation II M310, were 'merged' into one standardised design - the Hualong One.^[28] After the merger, both companies retain their own supply chain and their versions of the Hualong One will differ slightly (units built by CGN will retain some features from the ACPR1000) but the design is considered to be standardised. Some 85% of its components will be made domestically.^[29]

The Hualong One power output will be 1170 MWe gross, 1090 MWe net, with a 60-year design life, and would use a combination of passive and active safety systems with a double containment.^[30] It has a 177 assembly core design with an 18-month refuelling cycle. The power plant's utilisation rate is as high as 90%. CNNC has said its active and passive safety systems, double-layer containment and other technologies meet the highest international safety standards.^[31]

The Hualong One is now largely seen as the replacement for all previous Chinese nuclear reactor designs, and has been exported overseas.

Hualong Two

Main article: Hualong Two

CNNC plans to start building Hualong Two by 2024. It will be a more economical version using similar technology, taking a year less to build with about a quarter less in construction costs.^[32]

Advanced CANDU reactor

In September 2016 it was announced that SNC-Lavalin has signed an agreement in principle with CNNC and the Shanghai Electric Group to design, market and build the advanced CANDU reactor. Its ability to use reprocessed uranium will reduce China's stock of spent nuclear fuel.^[33]

DHR-400

CNNC has developed a pool-type light-water reactor for district heating, called the DHR-400 (District Heating Reactor 400 MWt). It operates at low temperature and air pressure, so is easy to operate and decommission.^[34] Building cost is 1.5 billion yuan ($230 million), taking three years to build. It is well suited for the existing centralised heating systems of northern Chinese cities, currently often coal fueled.^[35]

In February 2019, China's State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) signed a cooperation agreement with the Baishan municipal government in Jilin province for the Baishan Nuclear Energy Heating Demonstration Project, which would use a DHR-400.^[36]

ACP100

In July 2019, CNNC announced it would start building a demonstration ACP100 small modular reactor on the north-west side of the existing Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant by the end of the year.^[37] Design of the ACP100 started in 2010. It will be a fully integrated reactor module with an internal coolant system, with a 2-year refueling interval, producing 385 MWt and about 125 MWe.^[38] In July 2021 the announcement was made that the construction of the first ACP100 has been started.^[39] The beginning of the installation phase was announced in December 2022;^[40] by March 2023, the main internal structure of the reactor building was completed.^[41] The reactor type is also called Linglong One.

See also

• China Atomic Energy Authority
• Nuclear power in China
• China Nuclear International Uranium Corporation
• China General Nuclear Power Group
• CNNC International Limited

References

1. CNNC (27 January 2014). "CNNC: The Main Force of Nuclear Power Development in China". UK Trade & Industry (Market Briefing). pp. 64–98. from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2014. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
2. . Official website of CNNC. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
3. "About us". China National Nuclear Corporation. from the original on 2015-05-07. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
4. "Nuclear Industry in China" (PDF). www-pub.iaea.org. 18 October 2018. (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-09. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
5. "Conference brochure" (PDF). www.aben.com.br. 2015. (PDF) from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
6. Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (2020-06-24). "Defense Department produces list of Chinese military-linked companies, 20 years after mandate". Axios. from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
7. "China National Nuclear Corporation". Australian Strategic Policy Institute. June 11, 2020. from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
8. "Company Profile". China National Nuclear Corporation. 2016-02-01. from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
9. "Contact Us". China National Nuclear Corporation. from the original on 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2021-03-02. Address: No 1 Nansanxiang, Sanlihe, Xicheng district, Beijing, P.R. China - Chinese address 2021-07-28 at the Wayback Machine: "北京市西城区三里河南三巷一号"
10. "China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)". Nuclear Threat Initiative. from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
11. "Beijing airport ex-head executed". August 7, 2009. from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2009 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
12. China’s Rapid Reactor Expansion Raises Concerns 2017-02-11 at the Wayback Machine KEITH BRADSHER, Published: December 15, 2009
13. Reuters 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, China National Nuclear aims to raise $2.13 billion in largest IPO since 2011, Reuters, 31 May 2015
14. "TerraPower, CNNC team up on travelling wave reactor". World Nuclear News. 25 September 2015. from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
15. "UK-China Joint Research and Innovation Centre". National Nuclear Laboratory. from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
16. "China looks to nuclear option to ease winter heating woes". Reuters. 2017-12-10. from the original on 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
17. "More consolidation for China's nuclear industry". Nuclear Engineering International. 1 February 2018. from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
18. "CNNC merges China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Co". CNNC. 2018-01-31. from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
19. "DOD Releases List of Additional Companies, in Accordance with Section 1237 of FY19 NDAA". U.S. Department of Defense. August 28, 2020. from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
20. "Qualifying Entities Prepared in Response to Section 1237 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (PUBLIC LAW 105–261)" (PDF). U.S. Department of Defense. August 28, 2020. (PDF) from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
21. Chen, Shawna (November 12, 2020). "Trump bans Americans from investing in 31 companies with links to Chinese military". Axios. from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
22. Pamuk, Humeyra; Alper, Alexandra; Ali, Idrees (2020-11-12). "Trump bans U.S. investments in firms linked to Chinese military". Reuters. from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
23. Swanson, Ana (2020-11-12). "Trump Bars Investment in Chinese Firms With Military Ties". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
24. Biello, David (29 March 2011). "China forges ahead with nuclear energy". Nature. doi:10.1038/news.2011.194. from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
25. "China's commercial reactors" (PDF). Nuclear Engineering International. (PDF) from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
26. (IAEA), International Atomic Energy Agency. "- Nuclear Power - IAEA". www.iaea.org. from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
27. "Chinese reactor design evolution - Nuclear Engineering International". from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
28. "Nuclear Power in China". World Nuclear Association. 24 September 2013. from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
29. "Chinese reactor design passes safety review - World Nuclear News". from the original on 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
30. Ji Xing; Daiyong Song; Yuxiang Wu (March 2016). "HPR1000: Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor with Active and Passive Safety". Engineering. 2 (1): 79–87. doi:10.1016/J.ENG.2016.01.017.
31. "China to begin construction of Hualong Two in 2024 - Nuclear Engineering International". from the original on 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
32. "China to begin construction of Hualong Two in 2024". Nuclear Engineering International. 15 April 2021. from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
33. Marotte, Bertrand (2016-09-22). "SNC-Lavalin strikes deal to build nuclear reactors in China". The Globe and Mail. from the original on 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
34. "CNNC completes design of district heating reactor". World Nuclear News. 7 September 2018. from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
35. Stanway, David (10 December 2017). "China looks to nuclear option to ease winter heating woes". Reuters. from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
36. "China signs agreement for nuclear heating demonstration project". Nuclear Engineering International. 14 March 2019. from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
37. "CNNC launches demonstration SMR project". World Nuclear News. 22 July 2019. from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
38. "Specific Design Consideration of ACP100 for Application in the Middle East and North Africa Region" (PDF). CNNC. 2 October 2017. (PDF) from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
39. . Reuters. 14 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-07-13. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
40. "Chinese SMR project enters installation phase". World Nuclear News. from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
41. "Reactor building internal structures completed at Chinese SMR". World Nuclear News. from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

Further reading

• The Impact of Government Restructuring on Chinese Nuclear Arms Control and Nonproliferation Policymaking, Wen L. Hsu, The Nonproliferation Review, Fall 1999, p. 155.

External links

• Official website